Perfect World
by Dark Marx Soul
Summary: After his struggles and sorrows, Dimentio returns to the land of the living mere decades after his demise to meet old friends, and the love he felt for one remains as bright and powerful as ever. Functions as a potential one-shot "sequel" to "The Chaos Trilogy", a three-installment fan fiction written from 2009-13. "Perfect World" was originally written in 2013.


With a jolt, he suddenly found that he could feel.

It was jumbled, though; sensations against his body were like musical notes, while audible sounds spread across his tongue like exotic spices. His senses shifted across each other like water, and his eyes must have been wide as they took in textures. The memories of people he'd met before slowly surfaced; they had writhed on the ground, every movement a confusing input into their nervous system. He had no idea that it had felt like this.

Even before his senses had sorted themselves out, his mind was working a million miles a minute, trying to remember how he got here. He remembered a bright light engulfing his body, separating him...but that was it. Memories floated on the edge of his subconscious, memories of people he knew but couldn't quite place.

He was grasping at a name. A name he had heard spoken, shouted, in defiance or in desperation. His name. His identity.

 _Dimentio._

He grit his teeth as he writhed on the ground, holding onto that name in his head. That was him. He must never lose sight of that.

After a short time, he noticed a blur standing over him, looking at him. They exclaimed something, then turned. He extended a hand and shouted at them as they left, but beyond a slight hesitation, they continued on their way. He was alone again.

Things began to calm. His senses stabilized, and he stopped writhing. He was breathing deeply, feeling the fresh air go in and out of his lungs. It smelled sweet. Sweet and familiar to him.

He heard footsteps and turned away, shutting his eyes. Everything still seemed harsh to him. "Who are you?" he demanded, his voice dry and tired. He felt a blanket of some sort fall over his body, and then hands moved under him. The figure gave an exhausted grunt, then heaved him up. A protest came to his lips, but he remained quiet; he was too fatigued to do anything, and he was sure if this person meant ill he could summon enough magic to defend himself. The abilities and formulas were springing up in his mind again, and he busied himself with digging up more memories.

As the figure carried him on unsteady feet, he felt a growing dread in his chest. His past memories were coming back quickly; an image of a dark figure, tall, thin, and dripping with shadowy fluid, haunted his mind. Its shrill laughter made him feel cold, somehow.

They reached a house. The person opened the door awkwardly and brought him inside, then laid him down on a bed. "Where am—"

"Shh," the figure interrupted. "Rest." It was a male voice, and one that he could not remember ever hearing. He drew the blanket over him as the figure busied himself around the house, rummaging through drawers.

 _My name is Dimentio,_ he reminded himself. Monikers came up in his brain: the Master of Dimensions, the Pleaser of Crowds.

The Destroyer of Worlds. The God of the Perfect World.

He clasped his palms over his mouth and lurched as a blur of memories and emotions came forth. Familiar faces passed across his mind, people with dark blue skin, people with light skin. Names came up: Blumiere, Nastasia, O'Chunks. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Rosabella. At the remembrance of the last name he could feel a wave of nausea in his stomach and throat, and the smell of blood and flesh came. He wished he could just have amnesia, banish the memories to nothingness and start over.

The person came back and placed clothes by him. He realized with a jolt that he was naked and blood rushed to his face. His host hurriedly left, allowing him to put them on. They weren't anything special, but at least the cloth was comfortable. They seemed somewhat small on him, but he wasn't going to complain.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes with his palms and groaning. "Oh woe..." he sighed. "Such horrible memories..."

He was in a bedroom. It was fairly small and brown in colour, with a small, circular window that let light stream in for sight. A large rug covered the floor, and on it a grinning face smiled back at him, large teeth in its mouth. The decor brought unpleasant feelings with it.

He stared at his hand; it was pale white, with light, pink nails. The colour felt foreign to him, and he couldn't help but feel it should be darker.

He concentrated with his mind and he managed to float up in the air. He moved out of the bed and stood on his feet with some effort. A mirror was also in the room, large enough to reflect his whole body. He stared into it; yellow and grey eyes stared back, surrounded by white skin matching his hands. He ran his fingers across his cheeks, then through his hair, which was black and white, split equally down the middle.

An odd feeling passed through him as he looked at his body and he found himself smiling. He took a deep breath and stretched. Every single movement he made felt light and clean.

He walked out of the bedroom and walked down a hall. His host was sitting at a table, staring into what looked like a cup of coffee. Dimentio realized with a jolt that the man was Beanish; he had green skin and blue eyes, which were heavy and tired. Black hair covered his head, fluffy and swirling. Thick, round glasses covered his eyes, reflecting the sunlight. What looked like a high-collared, white coat covered his body, and black pants were on his legs.

The Beanish man stared at him hesitantly, looking directly into his eyes. He took a sip of his coffee. Dimentio, not knowing what to do, slowly raised a hand and waved. "Erm..." he said. "Hello?"

A small smile started on the Bean's face and he took another sip of coffee. "I have surprise," he said quietly. "You are not remembering the one who is me."

The bizarre vernacular practically threw memories at him and he stumbled back, his eyes wide. Images of a young boy with a wide grin surfaced, a red cloak billowing in the wind. "F... _Fawful?!_ " he exclaimed, holding himself up by the wall.

The man grinned widely, showing his full array of teeth. That was all he needed in order to confirm who the man was. "Now you are remembering!" the Bean beamed. "I had worry that you had forgotten Fawful!"

"Your voice is...deeper." It was all Dimentio could bring himself to say.

Fawful tapped his throat with his left hand, and he saw that it was darker than the rest of his body, mixed with a shade of dark blue. He felt a pang of hard guilt. "It is what occurs when one has the growing-up." The Bean motioned to his cup. "Coffee?"

"Erm..." He eyed the steaming liquid. "No thank you." The man shrugged. Dimentio lowered himself into a chair, shaking. "How...how many years has it been?" he asked. "How long?"

The former boy thought for a moment. "I am thinking it has been twenty. Or so."

"Grambi..." he breathed, holding his head. "Ah ha ha...you are certainly not the boy you once were."

"I am hoping so!"

"Where is Cackletta?" A small shadow passed the Bean's face. "...oh. I'm sorry." Fawful shrugged again.

The man finished his coffee and tossed the cup into a bin. He began pacing idly around the house. "I am wanting to show you something," he said, motioning for him to stand.

"Is...this the Beanbean Kingdom?"

"Yesing. What I am wanting to show you, however, is in the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Will we be taking a plane, then?"

The Bean made a 'pff' sound. "You have been away for a time of longness," he said. "That has certainty, for you are forgetting one thing."

Dimentio found himself making a frustrated face. "And what is that?"

Fawful grabbed his arm and waved his other hand; a two-dimensional box was drawn up around them. "Your gift!" he beamed. The two of them flipped out.

The two of them were walking through a field. Trees dotted the landscape, providing small areas of shade. The air was different here, but not less pleasant. "What of the Mario Brothers?" he asked his old enemy. "Are they still doing battle against Bowser?"

Fawful sighed, smiling. "The incidents had much less frequency after some time," he responded. "Now, Mushroom Kingdom has peace."

"Bowser?"

"Confined to his Koopa Kingdom."

"Ah. I thought maybe he died." Fawful's laughter told the magician just how ridiculous such a thought was, and he wondered exactly how many times the Bros. and Koopa had fought throughout their lives. "What of my former f..." He paused, then smiled softly. "My family?"

The man glanced sideways at him. "I am not knowing."

"They don't visit you?"

"Eh. They are having their own lives."

They walked in relative silence for a time. Dimentio found that despite Fawful's growth into adulthood, the Bean was still shorter than him, though by much less than he remembered. He had learned from the man that after the worlds were restored, he had begun aiding the Beanbean Kingdom with his genius, bringing with him a more prosperous age.

"I am being a professor now," he explained with more than a little bit of pride.

"I imagine your students have difficulty deciphering your speech," Dimentio replied with a crooked grin, which made Fawful flush slightly. Some things never quite changed.

He wanted to ask him about one more specific person. A person who brought such warmth to his heart. Surely she was still around, and surely she and Fawful had remained in contact. Their friendship had been close. He remained silent, however. Somehow, he was afraid to ask.

"Here we are being!" Fawful declared.

"They..." Dimentio started. "They are flowers..."

Before them, in a neat circle, was a large, multicoloured cluster of flowers, each of different kinds. A wind of many scents travelled up into his nose and he took a deep breath. He watched their petals drift in the breeze, his eyes transfixed by them. Nostalgia set into him, and he swallowed hard. "Where...where is this?"

"It is being the spot where we had the entering of the world from the Underwhere," Fawful answered, sending a wave through Dimentio which made his hairs stand on end. "Mimi and I had the planting of a flower here."

"And you...you kept planting them here?" Fawful nodded. "I cannot even see the earth we killed upon entry..." He could feel his eyes watering and he blinked away tears. "It is like...the stain is gone..."

Fawful put a hand on his shoulder and nodded. "All is done."

He looked back to the flowers. "Fawful...I must know." He looked back at him. "Where is—"

"Dimentio...?"

He froze; his heart leaped in his chest as the voice reached his ears. Fawful turned around. "Ah!" he exclaimed, grinning widely. "You received the message of mine!"

Slowly, Dimentio turned around, his heart pounding in his chest. Standing there, looking straight at him, was a small girl with green skin and green hair. Her red eyes were glistening with tears, and a smile was slowly spreading across her face.

She had not aged a day since he had gone.

"Welling," Fawful said, a satisfied smile on his face as he looked between the two of them. "I am supposing that is being that." He drew up a box again. "Goodbye to you!" He flipped out, leaving the two of them alone.

The magician's entire body felt tense as he looked at the girl, who stared back at him with a growing joy. "M...Mimi..." He swallowed his saliva nervously. "Um...hel—"

His words were cut off as Mimi flew through the air and crashed right into him, wrapping her arms around his torso and throwing him off his feet. The two of them rolled across the grass and collapsed in a heap, with Mimi burying her face into his chest. "You stupid dummy..." she whispered. "Disappearing like that..."

"I..." he croaked. "I'm sorry."

Quickly and without warning, she kissed him on the lips. Dimentio's felt his heart leap, but couldn't bring himself to do anything in response. She broke the awkward kiss, looking into his eyes. "You are you such a _dummy!_ " she yelled at him, and he winced. "I know you're like a zillion years old or something, but you were gone for so long anyway!"

"I'm...I'm sorry!" he sputtered again, trying to collect himself. "I don't...!"

She grabbed his cheeks and rested her forehead on his. He could feel her heartbeat against his chest; it was quick and powerful, matching his own nervous beat. He listened to the sounds of her breaths, his eyes closed. He was shaking, but couldn't calm himself.

"Just kiss me." Her voice was a quiet breath. "Like you promised."

She lifted her head from his forehead and stared into his eyes. As he stared back, a feeling of calmness went over him. The confusion of returning and the anxiety of finally being in Mimi's presence without the threat of conflict fell away.

He wrapped his arms around her and, mutually, for the first time since they had known each other, they kissed. Mimi leaned in close, pressing her body against his, and pulses of warmth spread from his lips throughout his body. The shapeshifter ran her fingers through his hair, kissing him with an intensity and joy that had taken hold of her as all the longing she felt over the decades she had waited for his return flushed out.

She lifted her lips off of his and rested her head against his shoulder. Dimentio held her tightly, his hands rubbing her back. He felt so warm, his heart was pounding against his chest, but even more than that came a feeling of safe serenity that enveloped him like a blanket. The heat and weight of the girl against him made him feel more content than he had ever known.

"Why...?" he whispered.

"Mm...?" Mimi had a hand on his chest and moved it rhythmically.

"Why did I fight so hard to banish this feeling...?" He clenched his teeth, shivering. "I thought I knew so much, but now I know I have always been so _ignorant_..."

The girl kissed his cheek. "It doesn't matter. You're here now." She smiled at him, and he couldn't help but smile back. "After all the fighting you did, and after all the time you spent gone...you're here with me."

He sighed and rested his head on the grass. "Is there any place in all the dimensions for me after what I've done?"

"There is," Mimi replied. "I know there is. You wouldn't have been brought back if there wasn't."

They laid there for a time, not saying anything, just letting each other's warmth cover them. "What now?" he asked. "Should I reacquaint myself with the good Count and his friends?"

"I think I want to just lay with you for a while." She sighed contently. "This is nice."

"Yes..." he agreed, smiling and petting her hair. "This is nice."

"I love you..."

"...I love you too."

 **Author's Remarks:**

 _Perfect World_ is a small one-shot written on a whim in 2013 that I neglected to publish here until very recently, conceived of as a possible "conclusion" for Dimentio after the events of _The Chaos Trilogy._ In particular, it is a companion piece to _After Time,_ which I published here as well quite recently; after the tragedy of that fic, I was persuaded that a happier what-if was just as valuable. I had kept it to myself as just a private little activity, and didn't want to put it out there as I don't really regard it as "canon" for the events of the _Trilogy._

However, lately I have felt an interest surfacing. My accounts on FanFiction and deviantART have been gathering dust. I decided to post this one-shot here for anyone interested in them, as well as for any new readers who haven't read my trilogy before.

It's been three years since _The Chaos Trilogy_ ended. I haven't written as much as I would like in that time, but I would like to believe I have improved.

Maybe you'll get to see that sometime.

Maybe I am waiting.

Like an elevator.


End file.
